Attorney's wife suing her husband's former mistress for trying to kill her

Updated 8:04 pm, Thursday, March 8, 2012

Photo: Eric Kayne

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Yvonne Stern testifies during the trial of Damian Ricardo Flores, 28, alleged to have been the last shooter on Yvonne Stern's life. Flores is accused of being the gunman who walked up to Stern and shot her in the abdomen outside an apartment at 4550 Braeswood. Oct. 27, 2011 in Houston. (Eric Kayne/For the Chronicle) less

Yvonne Stern testifies during the trial of Damian Ricardo Flores, 28, alleged to have been the last shooter on Yvonne Stern's life. Flores is accused of being the gunman who walked up to Stern and shot her in ... more

Stern has reconciled with her husband, attorney Jeffrey Stern, who's charged with solicitation of capital murder.

Stern has reconciled with her husband, attorney Jeffrey Stern, who's charged with solicitation of capital murder.

Photo: Sheriff's Office

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Stern testified at Flores' trial in October.

Stern testified at Flores' trial in October.

Photo: Eric Kayne

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Nhut Nguyen, who shot at Stern through her door, was sentenced to 45 years in prison.

Nhut Nguyen, who shot at Stern through her door, was sentenced to 45 years in prison.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Chronicle

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Accused hit man Damian Ricardo Flores, who was accused of shooting Stern in the abdomen in 2010.

Accused hit man Damian Ricardo Flores, who was accused of shooting Stern in the abdomen in 2010.

Photo: Eric Kayne

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Stern, shown with KTRK's Gina Gaston and Sharron Melton, was a regular on the Houston social circuit.

Stern, shown with KTRK's Gina Gaston and Sharron Melton, was a regular on the Houston social circuit.

Photo: Dave Rossman, For The Chronicle

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Attorney's wife suing her husband's former mistress for trying to kill her

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Yvonne Stern, the wife of a prominent Bellaire attorney, is suing her husband's former mistress for trying to kill her in three separate murder-for-hire plots in 2010.

The mistress, Michelle Gaiser, operated under an "unfounded delusion" that if she killed Stern, she would "live happily ever-after" with Jeffrey Stern, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday.

"Acting out on her fantasy, defendant set in motion her devious plot to kill Mrs. Stern by hiring individuals to go to her home and shoot her," the lawsuit alleges.

Gaiser, who remains in jail, has agreed to plead guilty to solicitation of capital murder with a jail sentence capped at 25 years in exchange for her testimony against her former lover and the hit men she hired to try to kill his wife.

Her attorneys said the lawsuit is a "back door" way for Jeffrey Stern's lawyers to find out what Gaiser knows before his pending trial.

Jeffrey Stern is charged with solicitation of capital murder, and Gaiser is expected to testify against him, which is why the lawsuit was filed, said attorney James Stafford.

Couple reconciled

Stafford said he expects Gaiser to shock the courtroom with tales of what she has seen, but would not give specifics.

"It's not going to make him look like the little choir boy that he is pretending to be," he said. "And if Yvonne hears about his weird propensities, I don't think she would be standing by her man."

Yvonne Stern filed for divorce after her husband admitted he was having an affair with Gaiser, but the two have since reconciled. She regularly accompanies him to court, despite allegations that he masterminded the attempts on his wife's life.

Stafford noted that suing a woman who expects to be in prison for the foreseeable future is unlikely to net any money.

The suit seeks unspecified damages for medical expenses and money for pain and suffering.

Prosecutors trying to convict Jeffrey Stern are expected to argue that Gaiser was the middleman, funneling money from her lover to would-be hit men.

Gaiser has testified that she hired Damian Ricardo Flores, 28, whose trial last year ended in a mistrial because of a hung jury. He is expected to be retried.

Shot in abdomen

Flores was accused of shooting Stern in the abdomen on May 5, 2010, the only plot that ended in injury.

On April 15, 2010, Nhut Nguyen knocked on the Sterns' door, then fired a shot through it at Yvonne Stern and her son. He was sentenced last year to 45 years in prison after being convicted of aggravated assault.

Before that shooting, Yvonne Stern was targeted in a drive-by shooting with no result.